Moulton, Ala. - Lawrence Medical Center has received a 2016 Women’s Choice Award for Emergency Care. This designation is based on criteria that considers female patient satisfaction, clinical excellence, and what women state that they want from a hospital emergency care.

“Lawrence Medical Center and its staff are honored to be recognized with the Women’s Choice Award for Emergency Care,” said Dean Griffin, CEO of Lawrence Medical Center. “Our physicians, nurses and staff are dedicated to providing the best care possible for our patients and I am proud to their commitment to our community.”

This recognition is determined by performance measures that are reported to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), including:

Average number of minutes before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack got an ECG

Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department, before they were admitted to the hospital as an inpatient

Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department before they were seen by a healthcare professional

Average time patients spent waiting in the Emergency Department, after the doctor decided to admit them as an inpatient, but before leaving the Emergency Department for their inpatient room

Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department before being sent home

Average time patients who came to the Emergency Department with broken bones had to wait before receiving pain medication

Percentage of patients who came to the Emergency Department with stroke symptoms who received brain scan results within 45 minutes of arrival

Percentage of patients who left the Emergency Department before being seen

Each of the measures indicated above were weighted according to a survey of over 1,000 women on their relative priority, and listed above in order of importance.

For each Emergency Department measure, the top 25th percentile and the top 50th percentile are determined for all hospitals reporting the measure. Hospitals that ranked in the top 25% nationwide for a measure received points according to the measure’s relative importance. Hospitals that ranked between 25% and 50% received half points. Points were then totaled for all measures, per hospital. Those hospitals with total scores that placed them in the top 10% nationally, earned the Women’s Choice Award.

“We have found that recommendations are an important consideration used by women in selecting a hospital for themselves and their family. By helping women know which hospitals in their area provide the best critical care, we are able to help them make better decisions, especially when it comes to emergency situations,” says Delia Passi, CEO and Founder of the Women’s Choice Award.

For more information on the 2016 America’s Best Hospitals for Emergency Care, visit womenschoiceaward.com.